Elections 2016: I Owe A
Listen to this articleWhile we look to see how Iowa responds to the big names running for POTUS, keep in mind the real Iowa is really I Owe A lot to many powerful people.
It may be a mortgage to a bank that will get bailed out when it relies on risky lending practices. It may be the IRS who collects your hard earned pay to fund poorly run and poorly managed government programs. It may be your credit card company that has allowed you to accumulate so much debt to buy the toys you think you need for happiness that you will never be able to retire. It may be the university you graduated from that has passed on its huge debts to you rather than control its own spending habits. But most of all, it is you, the voter, who continue to re-elect the same people in power who we are so frustrated with at over a 90 percent re-election clip.
You owe it to yourself and your loved ones to become a more responsible voter. You owe it to this nation to become more involved in our political process. That local citizen who may be 32 years old and running for school board or city council could become your future U.S. senator or president. What is their motive for running for political office? Do not assume anything about any candidate because when you do, they have you hooked just like a drug dealer who hands out a free sample of his product.
Do not get distracted by wedge issues already decided by our courts. Abortion, gun control, religion, race, gender, marriage, and speech have been decided and yet these are the same issues we get worked up over while very powerful and very wealthy people quietly slip horrific laws past us that benefit the few.
The wealthy are so powerful because they have elected leaders from both political parties working with them. Ask yourself, “Why aren’t there more political parties if we are indeed a democracy?” The answer is simple; because those in control do not want you to have more choices than you currently have. Those in control have made it virtually impossible for a legitimate third party to be formed that will challenge the status quo.
For those who think Bernie Sanders is the answer, he isn’t. Not because of his politics, but because even if he gets elected, he will need another 300 or more elected leaders in DC who think like him. However, that is not going to happen in this election cycle. So even if he is elected, he will be forced to work with the same Republicans and Democrats who are not thrilled to see his ideas become the law of the land and at his age, they know they can wait him out because he is not long for this earth.
Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are not much different. Think of what this nation might be like if they are ever supported by a bunch of right wing, Bible-thumping, gun-owning rednecks who have no tolerance for anyone or anything the least bit different than the way they believe. You might as well just stick a swastika on the American flag and then find a well-stocked bunker to hide in while civil war breaks out.
So while Iowa may seem like a small and inconsequential state to hold so much of the nation’s attention during this election, keep in mind the real I Owe A because the real I Owe A is YOU!
It depends on you being more rational and less emotional in our elections. It depends on you being more informed and less gullible. Most of all, it requires you to be more responsible and less reactionary, otherwise you will continue to be at the mercy of the very people you are angry at and it will be you who owes them more of yourself than you do already.
Jim is a life long resident of California and retired school teacher with 30 years in public education. Jim earned his BA in History from CSU Chico in 1981 and his MA in Education from Azusa Pacific University in 1994. He is also the author of Teaching The Teacher: Lessons Learned From Teaching. Jim considers himself an equal opportunity pain in the ass to any political party, group, or individual who looks to profit off of hypocrisy. When he is not pointing out the conflicting words and actions of our leaders, the NFL commissioner, or humans in general, he can be found riding his bike for hours on end while pondering his next article. Jim recently moved to Camarillo, CA after being convinced to join the witness protection program.